Page 45 of Snow Kisses

It was like no kiss they’d ever shared. His mouth eased down over hers so softly she hardly felt it, and then it moved harder and deeper and slower and rougher until she moaned and reached up, clinging to his neck. He lifted her against him, still increasing the pressure of his arms, his mouth, until she felt as if they were burning into each other, fusing a bond nothing would ever sever. She wanted him. She wanted him! Her mouth, her body, her aching moan told him so, and she could feel the tremor of his own body as the kiss went on and on.

Finally, slowly, he eased her back down onto the floor and breath by breath took his mouth away. His arms slackened and withdrew, although his steely hands held her until she was steady again.

His eyes searched hers. “Goodbye, Abby,” he said in a voice like steel.

“Goodbye, Cade,” she whispered brokenly.

He brushed his fingers against her cheek, unsteady fingers that touched her as if she’d already become abeautiful illusion. “My God, how I could have loved you!” he breathed. And then, before she could believe her own ears, he turned and strode quietly away, without once looking back.

Abby stared after him, uncomprehending. “Did…did I just hear what I thought I heard?” she murmured.

“What, honey?” Melly asked gently, coming back within earshot. “I was being discreet. Gosh, what a kiss that was! And you’re leaving?”

Abby sighed bitterly. Surely she’d dreamed it, or misunderstood…or had she? She took a steadying breath. “I have to go. I’ll miss my flight. Melly, take care of him?”

“You could have done that yourself, if you’d told him the truth,” Melly said softly. “It’s still not too late. You could catch him.”

“He wouldn’t listen,” she said wearily. “You know how Cade is when he makes up his mind, and I’ve gone mad and started hearing things again. Back to the salt mines, Melly. I’m fine now, I’m just fine. Take care. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She searched her sister’s eyes. “He couldn’t have kissed you that way without caring one hell of a lot. Think about that. Hurry now!”

Abby waved and ran for the plane. And all the way back to New York she thought and thought about that long, hard kiss and what she imagined Cade had said until she all but went crazy. Finally, in desperation, she tucked the memory in the back of her mind and closed her eyes. It was over now; he’d sent her away. Looking back was no good at all. She’d had time torecuperate and get herself back together. Now she had to put Montana and Cade behind her and start over. She could do it. After all, her career was all she had left.

Chapter Eleven

It took several days for Abby to adjust to city life again after the wide-open country of Montana. Accustomed to staying up late at the ranch, she now had to go to bed early, watch her diet, be concerned with shadows and lines of weariness, add to her wardrobe and pack her huge handbag with the dozens of items she might need for an assignment. And every night she soaked her aching feet and smothered herself in cold cream and longed for Cade McLaren with every cell in her body.

She did Jessica’s sketches in the weeks that followed and mailed them to Wyoming. Jessica phoned her shortly afterward and invited her out to see the boutique, but Abby had to put her off. She was working feverishly, and the lie she’d told Melly about the bottling company commercials had been amazingly prophetic. She was offered a television commercial for a soft drinkcompany, which she immediately accepted. Her career was skyrocketing. And it was as empty as her life.

She didn’t even bother dating other men. What was the use, when all she could do was compare them to Cade. So she worked and grieved for him, and before very long the toll of loneliness began to show on her.

All the years before, she’d had that sweet memory of him to sustain her, and the hope that someday things might change. But now there was no hope left. There was nothing to cling to, only a future that was empty and lonely. Even if she accepted Jessica’s offer and went to live in Wyoming, she might be near Cade but she’d still be alone. She didn’t know how she was going to bear it.

Late on Friday night, she was halfheartedly watching television when the phone rang. She couldn’t imagine who it could be at that hour, and she was frowning when she picked up the receiver.

“Hello?” she murmured.

“Hello, honey,” came a deep, painfully familiar voice. She sat down, paling. It had been almost four months since she’d last heard that particular voice, but she would have known it on her deathbed.

“Cade?” she whispered shakily.

“Yes.” There was a pause. “How are you, Abby?”

She drew in a slow breath. Don’t panic, she told herself, don’t give yourself away. “I’m just fine, Cade,” she said brightly.

“No date on a Friday night?” he murmured.

She drew her gold caftan closer around her, as if hecould see her all the way from Montana. “I was tired,” she replied. “Is everything all right? Melly…?”

“Melly’s fine. She and Jerry are down at Yellowstone for the weekend.”

“Oh.” She gripped the receiver tightly. “Then nothing’s wrong?”

“Everything’s wrong,” he said after a minute. “Hank’s quitting.”

“Hank!” She sat straight up. “Why?”

He laughed mirthlessly. “He says I’m too damned mean to stay around.”

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